Posted by Jason Barlow at 4:49PM on Thursday 20 September, 2007 7 Comments
This won't be easy to get across in mere words. Superlatives simply won't do. But listen up, because I'm talking to you from the hottest, tightest driving seat in the history of Brit road cars. There has never been - and there will never be - anything like it.
The strip of tarmac that lies ahead has so many twists and turns that I'll be lucky to get anywhere near the speed at which the T1's various aero devices - underbody diffuser and wings - start hustling the air. Doesn't matter - that can wait for the track. This'll be all about mechanical grip, though it's important to point out that the T1 is compromised by wet-weather rubber and nancy-boy road trim.
I'm sitting almost flat on my back, encased in a seat that's designed to hold you even under 3.5g lateral loads. Not much room for anything, only your hands and feet are free to move. Yet it's oddly comfortable. There's no dash. The T1's vital signs are on a central display within the steering wheel.
I thumb the starter button and squeeze the throttle. The Menard-made 3.5-litre V8 thunders into life like an orc with a sore head. Blip the throttle, and keep an eye on the oil pressure. Instant response from the loud pedal. Blip again. These are pure race-car sensations. Somewhere between Le Mans LMP and F1. Seriously. Another blip...
Into first. If you're rolling, it's easy. Away we go. Let's leave the full-bore first-gear pyrotechnics to the Stig. Into second gear... right, let's have it. Waaaiiiiiaeeeee!!! Can't actually see what revs we're pulling, can't see the rev counter, pull the paddle, that's third engaged in less than 100milliseconds.
Brake, steer, turn. Oh, this is just incredible. So much energy yet so little apparent effort. So little inertia. Instant response. Even this far away from the aero zone there is grip and balance like you can't believe. It gets a bit tricksy over the nasty cambers, but hey, it's practically a race car.
A straight opens up. I nail it in third. It doesn't accelerate so much as compress time. It vaporises distance. Five, six, seven thousand, into fourth, if only for just a few seconds. Then brake, steer, turn. Gun it again. This isn't a car, this is some sort of Transformer.
And then it's game over. I've experienced about three-tenths of the T1's potential. And had more fun than in any other car here - or indeed anywhere.
7 Comments for "Caparo T1"
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The big difference will be the drive trains. Porsches and Ferraris are rear wheel drive, so they do 100mph around a corner sideways. The hatch is front wheel drive, and last time I drove a hatchback it had a stupid amount of grip, with the ability to swing the back end out if needed simply by braking late.
So you get the benefits of rear wheel drive, but with grip, and the grip of 4 wheel drives with none of the predictable understeer. That's why the Megane doesn't feel slow - it is, just not round corners.
Sounds fantastic... but I suspect the truth is that the T1 is great fun for a while... then it would drive you nuts.
The real shame is that we'll probably never see a T1 on the road - they will all go into private collectors' garages, get covered with a dust sheet, stay there for a year and only come out to be taken by truck to a track-day event... Such a shame...
Street-legal Formula 1 car, sounds nice, if it has the same safety devices like a real F1 car, then you should be very safe... I WANT ONE.
Let's get one thing straight about this car. It is NOT a daily driver, or even a weekend warrior. It is a track-day car. The only time you are even supposed to drive something like this on the road is when you're going to the track.
The car also serves another purpose. To showcase the high quality of Caparo composites. If that sounds like an advertisement that's because it is. The car is simply a very, very, very fast advertisement.
This is one great car. But there is a fault. It's not about the car, but the people who buy it.
It isn't safe for anyone with no performance driving experience to be driving a car with almost F1 performance. It could be seriously dangerous.
That car is fantastic... if you can call it a car! I would love a shot.
'Sideways' is your post in the right place? What are you on about why didn't he bring out an impreza or lancer? They wouldn't stand a chance against the T1...
It sounds good, the T1. It has McLaren F1 engineering, amazing looks and neck-breaking speed, but £223,000 for a more powerful Ariel Atom? Err, "No".
And I know it will beat nearly every super car on the planet but it's also nearly as expensive as most supercars.